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Asian cruise line to deploy first ship in Med
WTM Special Report: Star Cruises is to base a ship in Malta to offer eastern Mediterranean itineraries next summer.
The 1,480-passenger capacity SuperStar Libra will reposition from Mumbai to the homeport of Malta in May.
It is the first time Star – which owns Norwegian Cruise Line and Orient Lines – has deployed a ship in Europe.
Ports of call on the new European cruises are scheduled to include Rome (Civitavecchia), La Spezia (for Florence and Pisa), Olbia, Naples, Venice and Messina (Sicily) in Italy; Athens (Piraeus), Santorini, Corfu, Crete, and Mykonos in Greece; Valetta in Malta; Istanbul and Izmir in Turkey; Dubrovnik in Croatia; and Alexandria in Egypt.
Cruises will range from seven to 13-nights. Star Cruises will also be selling the eastern Mediterranean cruises in its core domestic markets in Asia-Pacific as part of a strategy to contribute to the growth of the international cruise market.
SuperStar Libra was transferred to the Star Cruises fleet from NCL this summer.
European sales and marketing director Mick Dupont said: “In late spring 2006, the first ever ship in the Star Cruises fleet to operate in Europe will travel from the Far East to the Eastern Mediterranean.
‘This extremely exciting event marks the expansion of the Star Cruises brand into further international markets. Cruises will depart from the homeport of Malta and Star Cruises has received exceptional support from both the Prime Minister and the tourism minister of Malta in developing these itineraries.
“We are delighted to confirm a number of interesting itinerary options offering destinations across Malta, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Croatia. These itineraries will be shared with operators and cruise specialist travel agents at World Travel Market and we look forward to continuing to boost Star Cruises presence in the global cruise market.”
Report by Phil Davies
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